we'll have the future we always dreamed of

A/N: Written with absolute love, for Celia, aka my absolute favorite person on this site. Happy belated seventeenth! :3 ILYSM x

The other prompts are at the bottom. Much love to Sam, Lily, and my wonderful wife for the beta-love! x

WC: 1,300.

(Dazed.)

That was the only emotion Hermione Granger had felt as she pulled herself out of bed on a cold winter morning. The area in which her fiancé slept in was empty, and last night's events hit her full force. They had had a full fledged fight over many things that seemed to only have built up over time; such as how her new job in the Law Department had taken up all her time. She'd retorted with the fact that she was always the one in the house to take care of all the housework.

It simply blew out of proportion, and at the moment it seemed so trivial. She rubbed her eyes and exited her room, seeing if her fiancé was anywhere in the house. Peeking into each room, she found nobody except Crookshanks, playing with a toy. She pet him absentmindedly.

As she pet him, a wave of fear suddenly came over her; what if it was so bad that he would never come back home? No. That wouldn't happen. Not after - Hermione looked down at the shiny ring on her finger.

(After all; she loved him, and he loved her right back. At least that's what they had always told each other.)

She got ready before pouring herself a mug of tea, sitting on the couch in silence. Crookshanks joined her, keeping her company while she stressed over everything she might have done wrong last night.

(Pain.)

That was the only emotion Ron Weasley had felt as he pulled himself out of bed in Harry and Ginny's guest room on the very same winter morning. He didn't remember much about last night's fight with Hermione, but all he knew was that it was something he regretted.

He remembered storming out of the house last night, and asking Harry and Ginny if he could stay with them. Of course, they had said yes, but what kind of fight had even caused him to think about stooping that low and actually leaving the house?

His head was pounding mercilessly and the events of last night were very clouded. All he could remember was that he had drank Firewhiskey after he'd left. He didn't even know why they had fought - hell he was still in last night's clothes - but the first thought that came to his brain was that he had to go back home and apologize.

He opened the door of his room and went down the stairs to find Ginny eating breakfast. She turned to look at him. "There's some leftover food in the pan; Harry had to leave early today to meet someone." She paused for a moment, looking at him tentatively. "So what exactly was your fight with Hermione about?"

"I don't remember," he said after a few moments of silence. He looked down, a feeling of utter shame coming over him.

Ginny snorted. "Of course you don't remember," she said. "You were drunk as hell last night. I took pictures."

"I remember the fight was a bit silly," he admitted, completely not paying attention to her comment about pictures.

She nodded, as if it were a common occurrence. "She's probably waking up right now, alone, wondering what happened."

"You don't have to guilt trip me," he said pointedly to his sister. "I'm already feeling guilty enough."

"I mean I'm sure it wasn't just your fault," said Ginny, "I didn't mean to put it like that; I know what you guys are like."

"How do you and Harry do it? Never fight?"

Ginny scoffed. "We may hardly ever fight, but the one time we did - it was probably worse than all you guys' little fights put together. We don't speak of it, so don't ask what happened or I'll hex your bollocks off."

"Is this when you said you wanted to go to France for two weeks alone for a 'change of scenery'? Because I always knew there was something off about that," he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

The way Ginny's face got red proved he was right. "Arsehole," she muttered darkly.

"I'm going back," he said. "I'm going to make things right, I don't want to ever see the love of my life sad, especially when we have so much ahead of us, and I especially don't want her to even think about pulling off something like what you did…"

He'd always spent time thinking about their future and how much they had ahead of them; at least that's what they had always both done after a big fight.

Ginny threw food at him as he Disapparated.

(Anger.)

That was what Hermione had felt over the next hour. The events had come back to her, and while she'd definitely said things she regretted, it was just one simple fact - he left her at her worst point.

'You told him to.' a traitorous thought formed in her brain, and she hates it. 'You told him to leave.'

'He wasn't actually supposed to leave,' another thought argued. She silenced the thought; it would have been an unfair thing to assume.

She reflected on how they really started their relationship -

(It'd been the day after the Battle of Hogwarts, and everything had hit her full force - the losses that had occured, and everything that had happened to get her to where she is now.

She knew she shouldn't be so upset. She had to be there for Harry after all, who'd had it far worse with his feelings of guilt.

She had burst into tears at the injustice of it all, how many people had to die before their time.

Ron had found her, and he didn't say anything. He'd merely wrapped her into a hug, letting her cry.

Then he'd whispered something in her ear, "I'll always be there. For infinity.")

(Longing.)

That was what her anger was replaced with. She'd always spent time thinking about their future and how much they had ahead of them; at least that's what they had always both done after a big fight. Luckily, their fights had always been ephemeral.

'The world is our oyster' was a metaphor they'd always used. It was their oyster, both of them, together.

Would there be a both of them?

Hermione sighed, stirring her tea. Maybe he'd come back? Maybe…

Just then, she heard the sound of her door opening, and her eyes lit up.

"You came back," said Hermione breathlessly, putting her cup of tea down and immediately rushing to hug her fiancé.

"Of course I did," he said, enveloping her into a crushing hug.

"I'm really sorry about last night," she murmured under his embrace.

"You have nothing to apologize for, love. I was the one who left last night," he said, sounding honest.

Hermione closed her eyes as she let him kiss her forehead. "We… we both said some regretful things last night. Ridiculous things, because we were both just tired of life. So yes. I do have to apologize."

Ron nodded. "Let's just forget about it."

Hermione all but agreed, but then hesitated.

"What is it?" asked Ron, his face full of concern.

"I know this is absolutely ridiculous, and something that would never happen, but I - I was worried that when you'd left - a part of me wondered if you'd ever return," she said honestly. "If I'd done something to drive you off forever. I think about us and our future everyday and I'd hate if I were to ever ruin something like this."

"You could never ruin this. You'll never be able to get rid of me," he promised. "We will have the future we dream of. Our happy ending."

"I'm counting on it," smiled Hermione as their lips collided.

(Happiness.)

This is what the two felt at the current moment. A happiness that will last forever.

Also for-

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Assignment # 4: Muggle Music: Show Tunes Task 9 - "I Just Can't Wait to be King" (The Lion King) - write about someone looking forward to the future.

Insane House Challenge - 389. (word) Ephemeral - short lived.

365 Prompts Challenge - 150. (genre) Romance.

New Years Resolutions - 32. Write something hurt/comfort.

Forty Days Challenge (restriction): Only Gryffindors.

Play More Cards - 29. (Big Two) write about a powerful couple.

Serpent Day - 51. Japanese Rat Snake - (pairing) Ron/Hermione.

Library Lovers - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: (genre) Hurt/Comfort, (word) metaphor, (word) infinity.

Writing Club:

Character Appreciation - 19. Write about a fight.

OTP challenge: write about your OTP having a disagreement.

Showtime - 12. (phrase) happy ending.

Count Your Buttons: (word) toy, (pairing) Ron/Hermione.

Restriction: write a fic without using any of the Hogwarts Houses.

Please R&R :)

-Ana